Google nearing music service launch?

Google may be nearing the launch of its own version of the iTunes Music Store. A new research report says that late last week, Google met with a group of music industry executives. While it was described as a private event as merely for "networking," research firm Caris & Company suspects that Google is getting ready to launch an online music service, according to Forbes. "The music industry is broadly unhappy with the fixed pricing and lack of subscription options at the market-leading iTunes Music Store and likely to support alternative services," wrote the analyst in a recent report. Forbes notes that the company has recently told analysts that it has plans to expand revenue opportunities by entering into media downloads and localized ad-search. The research firm also noted that Google has expanded the availability of its experimental local AdWords to all customers in the U.S., Canada and Britain, which will allow targeting ads based on the user’s location when integrated with Google Maps. In addition, the report notes that Verizon has become an AdWords reseller, further enabling Google to expands its revenue base.

Filed under: industry